We are all Arizona

The passage of the racist law SB1070 in Arizona has sparked a global movement of resistance to anti-immigrant laws in the US. We stand in solidarity with the people of Arizona while fighting to make RI a state where no human being is considered illegal, and where all people share equal rights and dignity. ONA and allies led the fight to overturn the anti-immigrant Executive Order 08-01 -- making RI the first state in the country to revoke its "287(g) agreement" with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, the struggle continues, as police continue to criminalize our communities and the state continues its war against immigrants and people of color.

Community Defense Network

Every day the police and immigration officials attack us in the streets and in our homes. We resist these daily attacks and fight to keep our friends and neighbors from being profiled, detained and deported. ONA maintains a volunteer-staffed emergency phone line that provides real-time rights counseling to people facing police harassment. Additionally, our emergency response team mobilizes to the scene of police altercations to document and resist police violence. Our new "Copwatch" program takes the Red to the next level, with groups actively patrolling the streets to observe and prevent police abuse.

Digital Barrio

CyberPower meets Community Power at ONA. Access to technology is a right, yet many people in our neighborhood don't own computers or don't know how to use them. We run a free internet café in our office and provide free computer classes. A digital barrio is an educated barrio, and an educated barrio has power.

Spanish Classes

ONA's community Spanish classes create a space for members to connect with people in the community looking to learn Spanish. These classes increase our ability to organize a truly multilingual movement.

Movement-Building

ONA believes that our local organizing has more strength when it connects with national and international movements. We are honored to participate in:

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR): ONA works to build a national immigrant movement from the ground up. We also participate in their Hurricane Project, documenting human rights abuses.
Right to the City Alliance (RttC): ONA partners with this national alliance of urban community organizations to take back the city for those who live there, fighting for housing and quality, local jobs.
Turning the Tide movement: In 2010, community organizations from around the country gathered to unite our efforts to fight back against local immigration enforcement and "turn the tide" against the criminalization of our communities. ONA is a part of this growing movement, participating in national summits and sharing our experiences -- and victories -- from RI with the rest of the country.
United States Social Forum (USSF): In 2007 and 2010, ONA members joined the tens of thousands of people gathered in the largest social justice conferences in the history of the country to declare "Another World is Possible!"

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